How I became a headshot photographer

I often get asked about how I got into headshot photography. So today is the day and here it is!

I’ve never thought I’d be a headshot photographer! As a former dancer starting out in a photography industry, it felt logical to dive into dance photography – with all the knowledge of body movement and timing skills, I photographed dancers for their dance portfolios and social media content (you can read about my dance photography story in my previous post: Why Dance Photography). Headshot photography just happened. Unintentionally, I suddenly started booking headshot clients: actors, doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, and dancers (duh!). 

During the 2020 never-ending lockdowns I was trying to think about new techniques, new ways to photograph, but nothing came to my mind. After the first lockdown was eased, and my partner got a fresh haircut, after months of not shooting I needed to photograph him. Wedding suit and tie on, tattoos showing, cool watch – I thought a styled business portrait was a perfect addition to my portfolio at that time. I titled it a ‘magazine style business portrait’, updated my website and forgot about it. 

After about 2 months of having this image on my website bookings started to fly in. Straight from the very first client I was hearing “could you make me look like him” and referencing the headshot above. Little did I know that fast-forward 1 year, headshot photography would be 90% of my business. These days everyone needs an effective headshot, whether it’s for their CV, about me page on their website, or social media profile. Who doesn’t have a social media profile?

I truly love headshots, and I’m feeling blessed for getting into headshot photography by such fun chance.

If you’re looking a headshot photographer and reading this, I hope you find more useful tips on here – I have the whole blog category dedicated to headshots and personal branding. Are you based in Birmingham, West Midlands? Get in touch and let’s capture incredible professional headshots for you and your brand!